Did anyone ever move to Florida with teenagers?

[SamRoc]

Our plan was to move in 2 years, but it might be earlier. What was your experience with moving, did your kids adjust well and are they happy?

 

[The U]

our daughter was 11. everything is quite well here. she blended right in.

 

[Tinkim]

I think it may depend on their personality. When I was 16 we went on vacation to WDW (me and my mom and my sister's family). Mom decided she loved FL and wanted to move there. I was less than thrilled to leave NH because I had gone to school with the same kids since I was 5 years old and had "established" friendships by the time I was in 11th grade. We did make the move and I have to honestly say I hated it. I gave it a chance but the only real friend I made was a girl a year older than me who was from ME and we had the mutual hatred of all things FL to bond us together. I begged them to let me move back home and finish out 11th grade and my senior year "back home" and they were all set to let me but then decided we would all move back. I always felt kinda guilty because I probably made them miserable too. I should point out though that I was pretty shy and having had the same easy friendships for years it seemed really hard to me to fit in. I think if your kids are outgoing and not shy it would be a whole lot easier. Good luck in whatever you decide. I know it's probably a tough decision when you have older kids.

 

[CathrynRose]

Our plan was to move in 2 years, but it might be earlier. What was your experience with moving, did your kids adjust well and are they happy?

I did, last year - and it wasnt good.

My son was 12-13 when we lived there. First week in school, he came home to let me know a kid had been suspended from school for cocaine use/posession. There were gangs, and *bad kids* out the whazoo, there. And we werent in some "ghetto" we were in a really nice neighborhood, north of Tampa : (see http://www.livetampabay.com/Meadow_Pointe_Home.htm )

He got in 2 fights while he was there. A mother came to my door with a misunderstanding (thought a fight included my son, but it did not) She was from NJ, had moved there the same time as us, and her poor son hadnt made any friends, and had gotten the poop kicked out of him. I felt terrible for her, and cried with her. This was her "baby" she was trying to make a better life for. (they moved back to NJ about a month before we came back to Chgo)

Granted, Joey made friends - but I wouldnt do it again, with children - EVER! Im grateful for my "Disney Weekends" but that is it!!!!

Florida doesnt put money into the schools, like other states do. I checked out this site : http://www.greatschools.net/ : and it looked like the school were comparable....complete and utter lie. Theyre not - at all.

BTW - The younger one, I homeschooled until we got back. His school / friends werent any better.

Im not trying to be a pain - but I would seriously consider this - SERIOUSLY. Its not all peaches and cream.... I said to my b/f, I would consider going back to Florida to live (and only for Disney) when my kids are long gone, out of the house.

 

[Aidensmom]

My family moved here when I was 15, I adjusted fine, as did my younger brother and sister. We moved during the summer, I don't think it would have been so easy if we moved during the school year.

BTW, I have lived in Tampa for over 20 years, and have never had a run in with a gang, and I DON'T live in one of the more upscale neighborhoods. I think you are going to run into good and bad people everywhere, and everyone is going to have different experiences.

 

[SamRoc]

Thanks everyone for posting your experiences. I should have said how old my kids are, they are 20 and 16 and won't be going to school in Florida. My son is in college in NYC. They both graduate in June. I guess I was just asking more about making friends, and getting jobs and fitting in. I know alot of people who live in Florida are from other places, so they will probably find people with the same things in common. This is a big decision for our family, and I really want to think it through before we do anything. My inlaws have been living in ft. myers for over 20 years and love it. They left NYC with my sister in law when she started high school in florida. She loved it and ended up getting married and having a baby there. I guess everyones experiences are different, guess you have to find the right place for your family. Everyone says we should rent first to see the area we like first, my friend did that for a year, she rented in Boca Raton and ended up buying a house a year later close by that area.

 

[ducklite]

I waited until my son was out of school before we moved. I also think it helped that one of his two best friends moved five hours away from us about six months before we moved, and his other best friend was going off to college a month after we left. He knew that even if we had stayed, he would be without his buddies.

Anne

 

[The U]

we're in an eastern suburb of Tampa and have never had any gang activity. and we communicate with our daughter's teachers via e-mail freely.

here's an example from yesterday:

"Another point of interest for you is I am asking ...... to work on her writing. She seems satisfied with writing simple sentences in her paragraphs. I've asked her to redo some work to include compound and eventually complex sentences. Also she needs to improve on elaborating her supports."

I guess it is all a matter of perspective. we're safe and happy here. I'd NEVER move back to Illinois. it's corn, crime, tornadoes and methamphetamine..

 

[CathrynRose]

I guess it is all a matter of perspective. we're safe and happy here. I'd NEVER move back to Illinois. it's corn, crime, tornadoes and methamphetamine..

To each his own....

 

[SamRoc]

After my sister in law graduated high school she moved to Tampa to go to college there.Thats where she met her husband and they bought a house, I think the area was called Temple Terrace. They had a really nice house and would have stayed in Tampa, but my in laws are getting older and they needed to be close to them in Ft. Myers. My husband was happy that he got to buy some really good cigars in Tampa.

 

[WDWHound]

The decision whether to move you kid anywhere depends on the kid. When I was in 9th grade, my parents considered moving to Austin from Vermont (Dad had an offer of a better Job with MUCH better pay). Such a move would have probably been extremely difficult for me. I always had a hard time making new friends and I had just found a social circle in high school that I could relax and be myself with after 8 years of being a social outcast. The social life of high schools in Texas was very different than that found in Vermont highschools at that time and I don't think I would have learned to fit in. Thankfully, my parents decided that the move could wait and they stayed in Vermont till I graduated in 1979. It was a sacrifice that I willl always be grateful for. Both I and my parents moved to Austin after my first year of college.

 

[The U]

To each his own....

absolutely.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I moved the summer prior to my senior year. We were leaving New Orleans.

I was bummed about a new high school--but as we drove across the Alabama/Florida border..."Celebration" played on the radio and my sibs and I were "celebrating" our new home state.

 

[monarchsfan16]

My friend's family moved there this summer from NH. We graduated high school in June. They moved fourth of July weekend.She goes to college in Florida too (her mom forced her too). She hates it. Not so much the college, but living in Florida in general. She is on the shyer side, and hasn't really made any friends at home, hates the weather (can't blame her...hot, humid, and hurricanes). I talked to her last week, because quite frankly her away message scared me. When I asked her what was wrong she said, "everything, but most of all I just want to come home. And I mean NH, not Ocala". There's a possibility that she may be able to come back for a visit in December. Until the time I can put my arms around her, I just keep sending her cyber hugs.